Chelsea’s Sam Kerr pleads not guilty to harassment charge

Australian footballer Sam Kerr has pleaded not guilty to racist harassment against a police officer, British prosecutors announced Monday.

The attacker, who plays football for her club Chelsea in England, was charged with causing a police officer to be harassed, alarmed or distressed during an incident in Twickenham, south west from London on January 30 last year, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Britain's PA news agency reported that London's Metropolitan Police said the incident involved a police officer responding to a complaint about a taxi ride.

Kerr denied the charge during a plea and trial preparation hearing at Kingston upon Thames Crown Court on Monday, the Press Association reported.

The Metropolitan Police later confirmed: “Samantha Kerr, 30 (10.09.93), from Richmond, was charged by postal requisition on January 21 with an aggravated racially motivated offense under section 4A of the Act on public order of 1986.

“The charge relates to an incident involving a police officer who was responding to a complaint about a taxi ride on January 30, 2023 in Twickenham.”

Chelsea have not officially commented on the reported incident.

“I understand the defense is that she did not intend to cause alarm, harassment or distress to the police officer, [her behaviour] “It didn’t represent that and there was no racial aggravation,” Judge Judith Elaine Coello reportedly told Kerr’s attorney, Grace Forbes, in court.

Football Australia released the following statement regarding the appearance: “Football Australia is aware of legal proceedings involving Sam Kerr in the United Kingdom,” an FA statement said. “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to provide further comment at this time. Our focus remains on supporting all of our players, on and off the field. We will continue to monitor the situation and to provide our support where necessary.”

Kerr is expected to go on trial in February next year and two police officers are expected to give evidence. The trial is expected to last four days.

Kerr is one of Australia's best-known and most recognizable figures, especially after the Matildas' run to the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup earlier this year.

In May, she carried the Australian flag at the coronation of King Charles at Westminster Abbey.

The striker is currently out after injuring her anterior cruciate ligament during a hot weather training camp with the Chelsea women's team in Morocco in January.

Information from the Associated Press and AAP was used in this story.